Homeless Man Squatting in Ann Curry's $2.9 Million Townhouse
Credit: Janette Pellegrini/WireImage
The Upper West Side fixer-upper that Today cohost Ann Curry bought for $2.9 million has become a hobo hotspot, The New York Post reports.
The TV journalist and her husband, Brian Ross, purchased the four-story townhouse in 2003. Shortly after, they began a massive renovation that included building an unauthorized 18-foot-high penthouse. (They stopped all major construction five years ago following a series of Buildings Department violations.)
The homeless man was discovered Saturday, and eight cops were sent to remove him from the property around 9 a.m. The New York Post caught up with him at a nearby McDonald's, where he admitted that he had no idea the residence belonged to Curry, 54.
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"Ann Curry means crap to me!" he shouted, refusing to give his name or age. "The reason I lived there was because they chased me out of Central Park."
"I'll go back if someone says, 'Here's the key. Maintain the building,'" he added.
The vagrant said he spent the majority of last winter seeking warmth in the 3,700-square-foot-home. "I've been living there for about a year now," he said. "I'm not a drug addict; I just don't have a place to sleep."
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Because he was caught sleeping in the vestibule (and not completely inside the building), the man was not arrested. Instead, he was taken to a nearby homeless shelter.
Curry, who currently lives downtown near Gramercy Park with Ross and their two children, McKenzie and William, "is currently traveling to Africa to cover the humanitarian crisis and could not be reached for comment," an NBC spokeswoman said.
Tell Us What You Think
13It's her property and she has a right to keep out anyone she doesn't want there! how many of you would welcome a homeless person onto your property? I believe in helping others, but i also believe in protecting my property.
Geez, and here I thought Ann was a 'regular' person. "Unauthorized 18-foot- high penthouse?" Wha, the $2.9 mil townhouse wasn't good enough?
Rebecca, you are so wrong. Do you not realize what is going on in this country? Even people who are out looking for work every single day aren't getting calls back. Many of us are only one step away from the position that man is in. Instead of pointing the figure at the other political party, the Government as a whole needs to figure how to get us out of this mess THEY ALL have gotten us into.
Maybe he was squatting because he found a nice spot to take a dump. Leave the guy alone!!!!!
How ironic. She feels she has to go to Africa to find a humanitarian cause, and one was right on her doorstep.
You know, at least with helping in Africa you are helping people who are truly helpless. In America, you have the unusual distinction of not knowing. Helpless is subjective in the United States alot of the time. Helpless is a state of mind because the people in this country have such an unrivaled sense of entitlement that continues to be fueled by the Democratic party. Goodness sakes dont expect the poor to take care of business, let's make them beholden to the government.
Lol. That's funny HTTP://SUNSHINESCLOSET
It is time for the Rich to pay their fair share of squat time to the Ambition Challenged! After all...we can not all be Ambitious, and it it high time, that we quit discriminating against those who are not. So share your Squat Rich MoFos!!!!
Personally, I prefer a chair to squatting.
NYC rents are outrageous. Half the people there are on the verge of homelessness. What a dump.
What about taking care of our homeless & hungry in this country before helping Africa. Charity begins 2 home. Hope this unfortunate man finds a new home
Hey he needed a place to stay so why not pick a really nice home to stay in. At the end of the day I feel sorry for him and hopes he is now resting in some type of warmth.
so sad that in this country there are people who don't have warmth and a place to lay their heads at night